


For One Single Yesterday

by wannaliveindeansdimples



Series: Ana's AU's [5]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Genie/Djinn, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Djinni & Genies, Djinnverse (Supernatural), Heavy Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, No Smut, Pining Castiel, Pining Dean, Prompt Fic, imaginary couple, imaginary schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2014-12-30
Packaged: 2018-03-04 06:51:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2956436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wannaliveindeansdimples/pseuds/wannaliveindeansdimples
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the post:<br/>Don’t imagine Cas being kidnapped by a Djinn.<br/>Don’t imagine Sam being the one who goes inside his head to save him and finding that Cas’s dream world is living a normal life with Dean.<br/>Don’t imagine them all hanging out and when Dean finally leaves them alone for five minutes Sam trying to explain to Cas that this isn’t real and Cas saying “I know.”<br/>Don’t imagine Cas clinging to the Djinn Dean, begging Sam not to take him back.<br/>Don’t imagine Cas waking up and Dean yelling at him for letting the Djinn get the drop on him.<br/>Don’t imagine neither if them telling Dean what happened.<br/>Don’t imagine the sadness Sam would see on Cas’s face everyday from then on and the pain when Dean goes home with random women.<br/>Just don’t do it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Yamira](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yamira/gifts).



> Based on [this post](http://iwannaliveindeansdimples.tumblr.com/post/105478476430/charliebradburyismylesbianmuse) and at the request of the lovely ~~and fic-greedy~~ [Yamira](http://yamira.tumblr.com/). Edited by the incomparable ~~and dorky~~[Charlie](http://charliebradburyismylesbianmuse.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Basically, I took the original post and fleshed it out and gave it a happier ending. You're welcome/I'm sorry.

When Cas went missing, Dean went a little crazy. It really messed with his head, maybe even more than when Cas ingested a bunch of Leviathan and took a swim in a reservoir.

Sam was worried about his brother, but more than that, he knew Dean wasn’t reliable enough to continue this hunt.

They were almost definitely hunting a Djinn, they’d figured that out already. What Sam didn’t understand was how Cas had managed to let himself get taken. Sure, he was human now, but he wasn’t an idiot. He knew how to handle himself. He knew better than to go off on leads alone. Especially without telling anyone he was going until he was already almost there.

His text had given the barest info and not enough to find him. Dean had been beside himself since he’d gotten the text. When 12 hours went by without another word from Cas, Dean just about lost it.

Sam had been able to see that there was more than friendship between them for a long time. Their bond had always been a little odd, but ever since purgatory, things had been a lot different. He could see the way they looked at each other when they thought the other wasn’t looking. Neither of them would admit it, but Sam had been watching this thing between them develop until it was practically tangible enough to reach out and touch.

He could see how heartbroken each one was when they found out the other had been with someone else. When Cas slept with April because he’d learned from Dean that that was what humans did, Dean had been screwed up over it. He hadn’t said as much of course, but once he went and saw Cas again, realized Cas wanted to date other women, too, he’d come home and banged the first woman he could find.

Sam wanted to bang their heads together.

He finally had a lead on where the Djinn was, but he couldn’t count on Dean for back up on this – and he couldn’t risk going in alone like Cas had. So instead, he decided the better thing would be to find something that could take him into Cas’s head.

He was pretty confident the best option was African dream root, but he went through the lore books in the bunker to make sure. Once he’d done that, he had to make a few phone calls before he managed to find a source for the root. He let Dean go with him to pick it up since he thought it would be good for his brother to get out of the bunker for a while.

“Why would he do it, Sam? Why would he be so damn reckless?” Dean asked. Their entire conversational history had been variations on this theme from the time Cas first sent his text.

“I don’t know, Dean. Maybe he wanted to prove to himself that he’s capable of hunting as a human. You know losing his grace was a blow, even if he did give it up voluntarily this time.”

“What if something freaking happened to him, Sam? What are we gonna do?” Dean probably didn’t realize how much emotion was audible in his voice or he wouldn’t be talking right now, Sam thought.

“He’s gonna be fine, Dean. I’ll get the dream root and I’ll get him back,” Sam promised.

“That’s another thing, Sam. Why am I not the one going after him? I’m the one he texted,” Dean protested.

“Because you’re not reliable on this and you know it. You’re too close to it. He’s your best friend.” Sam glanced over at Dean and hesitated before adding, “Besides, you’ve been caught by a djinn before. Who knows if you’d be susceptible to whatever mojo it’s spinning, even without the toxin?”

Dean couldn’t argue with that, so he was thankfully quiet for the rest of the drive. It didn’t take long to get the root. Once they had it, Dean wanted him to check into a motel and take the stuff right there and then.

“Dean, we’ve got to be close enough that we can go get him when he wakes up. He’s going to be too weak to get out alone.”

“Well, are you any closer to knowing where the hell the thing is hiding out?” Dean asked.

Sam sighed, “No. I was kind of hoping you’d have some ideas.”

That, at least, got Dean moving and he spent the return drive going over the abductions and the locations where the single body had been found. They were only an hour away from the bunker when he made Sam swerve onto the shoulder by speaking suddenly.

“We need an infrared scanner,” Dean said.

“What?” Sam asked when he had the car under control again. “What for?”

“There’s a couple of possible locations. We need to scope them out, see which one has people in it.”

So Sam put Dean on making some more calls while he drove. Dean was coming up short, but then Sam remembered he’d seen something like it in the bunker storage vaults.

“Forget it, Dean, I think the Men of Letters had one. I’ll find it when we get there. We’re almost back, anyway.”

Once they got back, it took Sam and Dean the better part of an hour to find it, but when they did, they discovered it was in full working order. Thankful for small favors, Sam grabbed whatever he thought they'd need and they bundled into the Impala. He wasn’t entirely sure he trusted Dean to drive them to the locations, but Dean was insistent.

It was another hour of driving – and another half hour wasted on two locations that turned out to be a bust – before they found what they were looking for. Sam refused to take the dream root until he gave Dean a stern lecture.

“Dean, before I take this, you have to promise me you won’t go in there. Not without me. I’ve got to wake Cas up first, you know that.”

“I _know_ , Sam.” The anger was gone and he just sounded lost. “Just bring him back, all right?”

“I will, Dean,” Sam promised.

When he was sure Dean was going to wait in the car and not go running into the warehouse as soon as he went under, Sam added the strand of Cas’s hair he’d found to his mixture and took the root.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw, the title comes from the song Me & Bobby McGee

Sam didn’t understand what happened at first. He found himself standing in the entryway to the bunker. Then he realized, the dream root had brought him here. He started walking to find Cas. What he found nearly knocked him off his feet. He did his best not to let the shock register on his face.

There was a couch where the big table once sat. Dean was lying on the couch, in front of a flat screen TV. That in itself was hardly shocking. However, Cas was lying in front of Dean, with Dean’s arms wrapped around him. Dean was smiling and whispering in Cas’s ear. And when they looked up and saw Sam, neither of them acted self-conscious – though they were surprised to see him.

“Heya, Sammy! I didn’t think you were coming in till next week,” Dean said, leaning forward to kiss Cas on the cheek like it was an everyday occurrence. “He’s lucky he wasn’t here an hour ago, huh, Cas?” he said, the innuendo plain in his voice.

“Ha, yeah, sorry, I was listening to a book on tape and sorta forgot to call,” Sam said. It wasn’t the best lie he’d ever come up with, but this was a dream world, so hopefully it would fly.

“No worries, little bro. Hey you want a beer?” Dean asked.

“Uh, I’m good.” He wasn’t sure how to proceed, so he thought it was best to play along with the dream for the time being, till he could get Cas alone. “What’re you two watching?” he asked, turning toward the TV.

“ _Brokeback Mountain_ ,” Cas said, looking at Sam oddly.

“Oh, uh, right. I’ll just, uh, get my stuff from outside,” Sam said.

He wasn’t sure what he was going to bring in form his non-existent car, but he needed a moment to process a world where his brother unabashedly watched a gay love story without batting an eye. Not that he didn’t like the idea of his brother being comfortable with himself. It just took a little getting used to.

He wasn’t sure what was going on. _This_ was the dream life Cas was living? Life in the bunker with Dean? Sam wasn’t sure what he’d expected. Life where Cas had his powers back, maybe. Not that Cas having feelings for his brother was a surprise, it was just... he hadn’t expected Cas’ dream to be so _human_.

Apparently the dream world was fluid because he stepped outside to find his car waiting for him. Inside was an overnight bag, which he dutifully brought inside. He took it toward his room, noting that Dean’s room had most obviously become Cas and Dean’s room in the dream world. The bed had two pillows and two nightstands. Cas’s side of the room was stacked with books. Dean’s looked pretty much how it did in reality, Sam thought.

Sam couldn’t help but smile as he peeked into this little domestic nest Cas had dreamed up. Then he frowned as he remembered it wasn’t really Cas so much as it was the djinn. He was going to have to explain to Cas that this wasn’t real. He was going to have to make him leave.

He wasn’t looking forward to that conversation. He knew Cas likely was not going to respond well. This was his dream life. His idea of happiness realized. And Sam was going to have to be the one to rip it all away.

He hated himself more than a little bit for it.

He sighed heavily as he walked into his dream room and dropped the bag on the bed. He noted that his room looked slightly wrong, but as he stood there, looking around, things began to correct themselves. It was surreal, but he shook it off. It wasn’t important.

He trudged back to the living room, hoping an opportunity to speak with Cas would come soon. The longer he had to watch Cas with Dean, the harder this was going to be. At least he didn’t have to worry about this Dean. Still, he did have to worry about Cas and it wasn’t going to be easy to make him leave.

It was nearly three hours before dream Dean finally said he was going to take a shower. Three hours of watching the two of them hug and kiss and laugh softly to each other. Three hours of listening to his brother openly emote to Cas in a way the real Dean wasn’t currently capable of. Or maybe he was different with Cas. Sam didn’t know.

When Dean finally left, Sam gave it a full minute before he started trying to explain to Cas. He watched Cas cleaning up, a small smile playing at the corners of Cas’s mouth the whole time. He was so happy. Sam felt like an asshole, even though he knew it had to be done.

“Hey, uh, Cas? Look, man, we gotta talk. There’s a reason I’m here,” he said, drawing Cas down next to him on the couch.

“All right, Sam,” Cas said, looking upset – but not that surprised.

“Look, um, this – all this,” Sam said, gesturing around at the room. “It’s a dream. You were hunting a djinn. Do you remember that?”

Cas sighed and closed his eyes. “I know, Sam.”


	3. Chapter 3

Sam looked stunned. “You _know_?” He frowned and shook his head, leaning closer. “Cas, please, man, tell me you didn’t deliberately go after the djinn to get sent here.”

Cas glared, looking more like his old angel-mojoed self. He repeated what he’d said to Sam the first time he got drunk. “I told you once before, Sam. Don’t ask stupid questions. Of course I didn’t volunteer for this.”

Sam’s frowned stayed in place. “But you know it’s a dream and you haven’t tried to fight out of it. Is that really any better than chasing after it in the first place?”

“If this were your dream, Sam, and that were Jess in there, would you be in a hurry to leave?”

“Honestly? I don’t know. But Cas, Dean isn’t dead. You could –“

“He will never feel about me as this Dean does. I know Dean as well as it is possible to know a human being. I have been inside his mind, touched his very soul. Even if he were to ever have feelings for me, he would never allow himself to act on them.”

“Cas, I think you’re wrong. He’s stubborn, but –“

“Sam, he will never be like _him_ ,” Cas insisted, pointing toward the other room. “Are you going to make me leave with you? Leave Dean?” His voice was small and quiet, but Sam could hear the sadness running through it.

“Cas, if you stay, you’ll die. I don’t even know how long we have. If you die, the real Dean…he’s not going to survive it.” Cas looked skeptical, so Sam reminded him gently, “This Dean isn’t real, Cas. I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, but are you really willing to die for an imaginary relationship when the real person is still out there?”

Cas was quiet for so long Sam began to worry he was going to refuse. In the end, though he said. “All right. I’ll leave. Tell me how.”

Sam felt a pang when he saw how defeated Cas looked. “You just have to wake up. When you wake up, I’ll wake up and then Dean and I can run into the warehouse and get you.”

“May I…may I say goodbye?”

Sam wanted to argue, but in the face of Cas’s pain, he could only nod. Cas left the room. He was gone several minutes. When he came back, there were tear tracks on his face.

Not knowing how to comfort Cas, Sam just asked, “Are you ready?”

Cas nodded slowly. “Promise me something, Sam.”

“Uh, okay, maybe. What is it?” Sam asked warily.

“Don’t tell Dean where I’ve been.”

“Cas –“

“Sam, _please_. Promise me or I’m staying here,” he said, voice breaking slightly.

“Fine, Cas. I promise. Now let’s go,” Sam said, angrily.

In the next second, he was sitting in the Impala, next to a frantic looking Dean. “Sam? Is he awake? Let’s go get him!” He was out of the car before Sam was even fully conscious. He jumped out and rushed after Dean.

“Dean, wait! You’re doing exactly what I told you not to do!” he said as he caught up to his brother. “If you act reckless, you could get any one of us – or all of us – killed. Now, come on. Let’s do this right.”

Dean glared and rolled his eyes, but he stopped and paid attention to Sam’s directions. They carefully entered the warehouse. It took a full five minutes before they found the djinn. Dean nearly killed him before Sam reminded him they didn’t know where Cas was yet. They forced the monster to tell them where Cas was. Once they found him – pale and malnourished, but alive and awake – Dean killed the djinn with a little more force than was strictly necessary.

For just a split second, Sam saw the raw fear and pain on his brother’s face before Dean’s macho mask came down. He hoisted Cas up off the floor, but didn’t even wait until he was on his feet to start berating him.

“What the fuck were you thinking going after that thing alone, huh? Come on, Cas, you’re smarter than that.” He glared at him, even as he gently half-carried him out of the squalor of the abandoned building. “What was so nice in that dream you couldn’t wake yourself up, anyway? Heaven? I mean, I know you’re not an angel anymore, but I also know you’ve spent enough time manipulating dreams to know one when you see it. What the hell?”

Cas just closed his eyes and let Dean move him. He didn’t answer. Only Sam understood the hurt on his face. Dean apparently assumed it was from the physical discomfort.

“Dean, leave him alone. He’s been through a lot. Fucking look at him.”

“I see him, Sam,” Dean said and his voice betrayed how scared he was when it broke.

“He nearly died on us and I feel like we deserve to know why,” Dean looked at Sam pointedly, “He ain’t talking, apparently, but you were there. So what the hell was it?”

Sam looked at Cas and saw his eyes now wide open and frightened. “You know, like you said. It was heaven stuff, I guess. I don’t know. I was too busy trying to find him to pay much attention, really.”

Cas’s face was grateful, but Sam felt like shit, lying to his brother about this. Sam knew that Dean would be better off knowing what Cas really wanted. If he knew, he’d make it happen. He’d put aside his shit and he’d be with Cas. Sam knew it in his bones. But he also knew that Dean wouldn’t move on less than a sure thing. Not when he thought Cas had been willing to die for a dream life that Dean wasn’t in.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the first couple chapters, I apparently hit post without preview instead of save without posting and I'm not sure how that happened or whether or not I was ready to post, but now it is done, so...yeah. That love I mentioned? Really need that. ♥

The next couple of days were incredibly uncomfortable for Sam. Dean was still hurt and scared - and still angry over being both. So he walked this weird line where he was constantly snapping at Cas for everything, while at the same time, Cas couldn’t walk a foot without Dean trying to do something for him.

“Why the hell are you walking around with no shoes on? Near-suicide by djinn wasn’t enough for you? Now you gotta catch the flu too?” Dean nagged. Then he immediately brought Cas a pair of socks and made him hot tea.

Cas, bless his newly human heart, was utterly perplexed by Dean’s behavior. Sam knew he didn’t believe Dean loved him the way he loved Dean, so Sam could see that Cas didn’t understand what Dean was doing. Cas just thought Dean was sending very mixed signals. Maybe when he was an angel, he’d have understood. It certainly used to seem like he and Dean understood each other better than anyone else understood them. But now, he just seemed lost in the face of Dean’s weirdness.

His blindness to how Dean felt must be blinding him to Dean’s motivations, Sam thought. For once, he couldn’t see through Dean’s bullshit and it was really sad to watch.

Not as sad as watching Cas watch Dean when he thought no one was looking. He would stare at Dean with naked longing and Sam had to turn away. He’d been bad before, but now, Sam supposed, in his mind, he’d actually gotten to experience what it would be like to have Dean the way he wanted him. So not only was he longing for _this_ Dean, Cas was longing for a Dean that didn’t even exist anymore.

Dean was little better. He was more adept at hiding the need from his face, but since he thought Cas had left him, he wasn’t as good as he had been before. He kept shooting Cas these hurt, defeated little looks that Sam couldn’t stand any more than Cas’s longing ones. It was obviously driving him crazy, wondering just what Cas would be willing to leave them for. He’d chosen humanity, but apparently that wasn’t enough for Dean to believe Cas wanted to be with him.

When Sam couldn’t take it anymore, he suggested they go out. He told Cas and Dean to get dressed because they were going to the bar. Less than two hours later, he was already regretting it.

When they first got there, it was all right. Dean was sullen and more interested in whiskey than the other occupants of the bar. But after an hour or so of shooting surreptitious glances at Cas, he got a calculating look in his eye and started searching the other patrons of the bar.

When he found a likely candidate – a blonde, mostly drunk woman who had been bypassed by several others – he grinned at each of them in turn and then got up, with a cocky, “Don’t wait up, fellas.”

Cas’s eyes tracked him as he walked across the room, despair filling his face more clearly with every step Dean took toward the woman. Sam thought he might start crying right there at the bar. Instead, he said, “Please, Sam, can we go? I can’t watch this.”

So Sam threw some bills on the bar and they headed outside. Back in the Impala, Cas folded in on himself and turned toward the window, practically in the fetal position. Sam sighed and put the car into gear. He felt awful.

“Cas, I’m sorry. I didn’t think he’d –“

“I don’t want to talk about it, Sam. Please. Just drive us home.” When they’d gone a few miles, he whispered, “I wish you’d just left me there with the djinn.”

“Cas, you know I couldn’t just let you die, man. It wasn’t _real_. And Dean –“

“It was real enough for me, Sam. It was more than I’m ever going to get. I chose humanity so I could stay with him, but he doesn’t want me.” The first tear fell then and Cas was obviously struggling not to let any others follow it.

“Cas, listen to me. He cares about you, all right? What he’s doing right now, he’s only doing it because he thinks you’d rather be with the other angels than with him. He thinks you regret your choice.” His tone was pleading. He wanted more than anything for Cas to just tell Dean what his djinn dream had been.

“Do you know what he did when I touched him a few days before the djinn found me?” Cas asked quietly. “He was upset about something and I laid my hand on his arm, only trying to comfort him.” He pursed his lips and stared to the window. “He went totally still and then he shoved my hand away. He said, ‘Don’t get all fucking touchy feely, Cas. That’s the last thing I need.’ And then he stormed off.”

“Come on, man. You know that’s how he gets when he’s upset. He throws my hand off all the time.” Sam ran a hand through his hair as he took the turnoff for the bunker. “Besides, he was probably unprepared for his own reaction to you touching him. It’s not exactly something you’ve done much of, except when you were trying to stop him doing something.”

“Sam, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, truly, but you didn’t see his face.” He looked at Sam as they got close to the bunker. “You’re right that I don’t want to die. Being with him as friends is better than being without him entirely. But he’s just been so _strange_ ever since I became human – and more so since I came back from the djinn. And tonight,” he said, but stopped and bit his lip, tears welling once more. He shook his head.

Sam pulled into the garage without another word. He had to find a way to fix this, but at the moment, he was too tired to figure it out. They were both so damn blind. How the hell could he make either of them see?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, darlings. That's all there is. I'm sorry I left you smutless. Perhaps a time stamp/epilogue at some later date. Perhaps not. I am a fickle mistress.

Unfortunately for Sam, Dean wanted to return to the bar the next night. And the night after. And so on, for a week. Cas refused to join them for the first four nights and Dean, thankfully, chose to drink himself into a stupor instead of finding female entertainment. When they got home on the fourth night, though, Cas was still up and saw that Dean had come home instead of picking someone up.

So when Dean suggested going out on the fifth night, Cas agreed to go. Sam didn’t know what Dean would have done if Cas hadn’t come along, but when a drunk brunette came over and started hitting on him, Dean seemed only too happy to flirt back. They were nauseating within seconds, leaning close and alternating between his whispers and her giggles.

When she moved to sit on Dean’s lap, Cas looked pale and got up, saying he was going to the restroom. Sam wanted to talk to Dean and tell him to tone it down, but before he could say anything, Dean looked toward Cas’s retreating back and asked the girl if she wanted to get out of there.

Dean didn’t even say good-bye to Sam, he just got up with the girl and walked out. Sam stared toward the bathrooms where Cas had gone for a full minute, anger building inside him. He was sick of Dean’s shit.

The last four nights, he’d gotten drunk and come as close as he’d ever been to admitting just how much Cas meant to him. And now tonight, when Cas was here and Dean could and should tell him, instead he was leaving with yet another nameless girl he wouldn’t remember.

Sam threw money on the counter and stalked outside after them, intending to give Dean a piece of his mind. Instead, when he got outside, he saw them, standing to the left of the doorway. He could see that Dean had stepped back and that the girl looked confused and unhappy.

“- can’t do this,” Dean said. “It’s not you. You’re plenty hot and you seem sweet, but I’m in love with somebody else. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to lead you on, but they were sitting there when you came up and I just -“

“She’s inside? Did y’all break up or something?” she asked and Sam was amazed to see she was concerned instead of angry.

Dean shook his head. When he spoke, Sam realized his brother was crying. “No, we – he stayed and I thought that meant he-he chose me, but then he left. Because he actually wanted something else. And now he’s back, but he doesn’t seem to wanna be and….”

“Oh, honey. Who was it? That cute blue-eyed fella who was giving me the stink eye?” the girl asked, evidently more perceptive than either Dean or Cas.

“Nah, he always looks like that. Well, almost. Sometimes, he –“ Dean stopped himself and took a deep breath. “Never mind. Anyway, I’ll get you a cab and pay for it.”

Sam stayed quiet while he watched Dean do just that, flagging down the first yellow taxi that came by and reaching into the front seat to pay the driver in advance. He waited until the car drove away before he spoke to his brother.

“Dean, what are you doing?”

Dean spun around like he’d been shot. “Sam? What the hell man? She changed her mind and went home in a cab.”

“Dean, I heard the whole conversation. You’ve got to stop this. You’re just making everything worse. Is this what you did the other night too? Tell Cas how you feel –“

“He left us, Sam. Who knows, maybe he even went looking for the damn djinn so he could get put under,” Dean said angrily.

“Dean, he didn’t. He told me he didn’t. Just ask him what the dream was –“

This time, Sam was interrupted by the door opening. Cas, evidently concerned when he came out of the bathroom and found them both gone, had come outside. He looked confused to find Dean alone, but it was Sam to whom he spoke.

“What’s happening?”

“Cas, tell Dean where you were. In the dream.”

“Sam. We talked about this.” His voice had an edge to it, but whether it was anger or fear, Sam couldn’t tell.

“Cas, if you don’t tell him, I will. Trust me. _Please_.”

“Sam, you can’t. You promised!” Cas said and he was practically shouting this time, desperation in his voice.

Sam ignored him, however, and turned back to Dean. “Dean, Cas didn’t wake himself up because he was dreaming about living the apple pie life –“

He was cut off when Cas’s fist connected with his jaw. Cas stood over him, chest heaving and eyes wild and terrified. “Sam, I’m sorry, but…” He trailed off helplessly.

Dean, however, wasn’t going to be ignored. “Who with, Cas?”

Cas turned, as if only just realizing Dean was still there. “What?”

Dean stepped closer, as Sam saw something like hope on his brother’s face for the first time in weeks. “Who were you living the apple pie life with in that dream?”

“I don’t know what that means. ‘Apple pie life.’” It was an obvious lie, but Dean ignored it.

Dean was close enough now to grab Cas by the arm. “ _Who_ , Cas?!”

“With _you!_ ” Cas shouted angrily. Then his face fell and he just looked sad and lost again. “I was with you. I’m sorry.”

Dean looked like he might faint. “Why are you sorry, Cas?”

Cas dropped his head. “Because I know you don’t feel the same. And I know you don’t think –“

Before Cas could finish the sentence, the movement of his mouth was stopped by the movement of Dean’s. Sam turned away as he picked himself up off the ground, but from what he could tell, the kiss lasted for nearly a full minute.

Cas was breathless, his voice higher than Sam had ever heard it, when he asked, “Why did you do that?”

“I thought you left because you didn’t want to be with me.” Dean looked back and forth between Cas’s eyes, thumbs stroking down Cas’s cheeks. “And all I want is for you to be with me, Cas.”

“You… _want_ … the apple pie life? With me?” Cas asked, incredulous.

Dean nodded. “Yeah, Cas. I do. I don’t know how close we can get to it. We’re still hunters and that doesn’t make anything easy, but… can we try?” Sam saw the tears glinting in his brother’s eyes again.

Instead of answering, Cas pulled Dean in for another kiss. In the brief glimpse that Sam got, it looked a lot more… in depth than the previous one. Sam kept his face averted until it was obvious they weren’t going to stop anytime soon without prompting. He cleared his throat.

“Uh, guys? Maybe we could head back to the bunker before you two resolve all your sexual tension?”

That night, Sam slept in the room furthest from Dean’s…just in case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I love you. ♥

**Author's Note:**

> Love me, please. I'm blue. ♥


End file.
